India’s Supreme Court stays execution of man on death row

Judge calls for the trial court’s records of the case lodged in Muzaffarnagar district

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of a man sentenced to death in a case related to election rivalry in which six people were murdered after panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh in 2003.

A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra, Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar admitted the appeal filed by convict Madan and called for the trial court’s records of the case lodged in Muzaffarnagar district.

“Leave granted. Let the lower court’s records be called for. There shall be a stay on the execution of the death sentence,” it said.

Madan was awarded the capital punishment by the trial court in July 2015 and the sentence was confirmed by the Allahabad High Court in February this year.

The high court, while confirming his death sentence, had observed that he was one of the main assailants in the crime in which six persons had died.

The high court had commuted to life term the death penalty awarded by the trial court to another convict in the case.

According to the prosecution, Madan, along with his associates, had fired at the family members and supporters of the successful candidates, who were elected as members of a village panchayat.

It had alleged that Madan and others were supporting the other candidate, who had lost the election, due to which he had a grudge against them.

The prosecution had said that on October 14, 2003, when the relatives and supporters of the successful candidates were going to the house of deputy pradhan of the village, Madan and his associates attacked them and in the firing six people had died.

During the trial, Madan and others had denied the allegations levelled against them and had claimed that they were falsely implicated in the case due to election rivalry.

In its judgement, the high court had held that Madan and his associates had indiscriminately fired upon the victims and considering the gravity of offence, it was covered under the category of the rarest of rare cases warranting death penalty.